Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular
Not to be confused with Ghostbusters: Novel by Larry Milne Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular is a novelization written by Richard Mueller based on the first film. It was published by A Tom Doherty Associates Book (TOR) in 1985. Differences The story was expanded on in the novelization and covered, among other things, deleted scenes and family histories of many of the Ghostbusters. Interestingly, the two bums Harlan Bojay and Robert Learned Coombs are in much of it, in between parts in the story. *Page 7 **The beginning of the story is placed in early autumn. *Page 10 and 11 **Alice, the librarian, is known as Alice Melvin in the novelization. She is 29 years old, wanted to be a fashion designer, stout and plain, just had her VCR stolen by her most recent date, and wanted to be reborn as Lonnie Anderson. *Page 11 **The month is stated to be September. *Page 15 **The University is known as Columbia University. *Page 17 **The male volunteer for Dr. Venkman's ESP test is known as Scott Dickinson. *Page 23 **Ray mentions he experienced an unexplained multiple high-altitude rockfall. In the movie, it was changed to an undersea unexplained mass sponge migration. **Egon spent his childhood in the quiet suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. **Young Egon read books such as "The Mysteries of Latent Abnormality," "Electrical Applications of the Psycho-sexual Drive," "Your Friend the Fungus," "Astral Projections as an Untapped Power Source," and "The Necronomicon." **Young Egon used three concentric rings from Plasticville houses in his brother's Lionel train layout as components in a compact explosive. *Page 25 **The book that Dr. Venkman slams on the desk near Dr. Spengler's head in the New York City Public Library, is a copy of Tobin's Spirit Guide in the novelization. *Page 30 **When Drs. Spengler, Stantz, and Venkman find ectoplasmic residue left by the Library ghost; the plasma flow is compared to the Watertown Pus Eruption of 1910. Peter refers to the residue as "Cosmic Boogers". *Page 31 **The event referenced upon seeing symmetrical book stacking is the Library of Alexandria Incident. *Page 41 **Dr. Venkman introduced Dr. Spengler and Stantz to each other. *Page 42 **Dr. Stantz and Venkman are stated to have no living parents. *Page 45 **Dr. Stantz was raised on Long Island by his doctor father and housewife mother. **Ray has an older brother named Carl. He was an Air Force officer in the Middle East, is married, is Republican, has two sons and both are in the Boy Scouts, is an alcoholic, and is a Sustaining Member of the National Rifle Association. **Ray has a younger sister named Jean. She is a journalist in California, is divorced, is a Democrat, has a daughter who attends ballet school, and is a feminist with two lovers of both genders. **Neither Carl nor Jean speak to each other, nor do they speak to Ray. **Three years ago, from the library scene, a Stantz family reunion was held at the ancestral home in Islip, a small town in Long Island. *Page 47 **Carl hates Communism, homosexuality, and parapsychology. And Dr. Venkman. The feeling is mutual. **Carl's family flew from South Carolina and Jean's from San Francisco. *Page 48 **Jean's first husband is a classic scholar and part-time beet farmer. *Page 49 **Dr. Spengler had an apartment where he maintained a rooftop fungus farm. **18 months after the Stantz reunion, a 727 carrying Ray's parents went down on flight to Puerto Rico. *Page 50 **Egon insisted to Ray that they were still alive in the Bermuda Triangle until Ray punched him. **Ray knew his parents' fear was growing old and sickly. **Ray learned he was going to inherit the Islip house, because his father met Dr. Venkman at the reunion and felt Ray would need all the help he could get. *Page 52 **The Firehouse's location is described as "where Chinatown butts up against the city, state, and federal court buildings around Foley Square." **The real estate agent is known as Mrs. Scott. *Page 65 **The advertised phone number for the Ghostbusters is 1-212-NO-GHOST (or 1-212-664-4678). In the movie, the advertised phone number is shown at the 18 minute, 49 second mark as 555-2368. *Page 69 **14 days after Janine is hired, Dana Barrett visits the Firehouse. *Page 77 **Dr. Spengler was the first scientist to hypnotize a hamster by subjecting it to low-frequency radio waves. **Spengler also makes a sonic gun that can set off soft-drink cans at 100 yards. Peter got drunk one night and took it to a local soda warehouse. *Page 78 **Dr. Venkman entered the study of parapsychology because grant money was readily available and the study of ESP was in its infant stage (and thus, results could be made up). *Page 80 **Dana Barrett has a pillow embroidered with "Souvenir of Fort Hood, Texas." Dana's uncle was in the army. *Page 89 **The Sedgewick was built in the thirties on the edge of the garment district. It is home to businessmen, trade shows, conventions, and vacationers. *Page 93 **The Sedgewick manager is named J.M. Shupp. *Page 126 **When Dr. Venkman reports to Dana about Zuul and scores a date, it is noted to be late October. *Page 133 **When Janine gets a call about a mist, it is further elaborated on. She consults a chart Ray made for her and she concludes it is a class-two anchored-proximity phantasm. *Page 136 **Winston Zeddemore was in Strategic Air Command, ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) school, is a black belt in karate, and is a small-arms expert. **Winston had been out of the Air Force a couple weeks, with no luck in finding a job with his skills learned from the military, before seeing the Ghostbuster want ad. **Winston was living with his mother Lucille. *Page 151 **Dana's father was a railroad worker for the Boston and Maine, invalided off on a pension. She has two brothers named Doug and Davey. Doug is a reporter for The Boston Globe, and Davey is center field for the San Diego Padres Major League baseball team. *Page 153 **Dr. Venkman was a carnival barker during his summers away from college. *Page 154 **Bill Hibbler, at the National Reporter, is plagued with a phantasm; a large and voracious creature. It jammed typewriters, exposed film, set fires in trash baskets, overflowed toilets, caused light bulbs to explode, made obscene phone calls, and slimed the presses. Dr. Venkman calls it a class-nine autonomous roaming disrupter. It is revealed that Peter had released it there in retaliation for the National Reporter calling him and his colleagues fakes and charlatans. *Page 155 **Dr. Venkman was born on the lot of King City Attractions, in a tent, on a field, in Sedalia, Missouri. **Venkman went to school in Iowa City but the family circus toured through the Corn Belt states. *Page 172 **The Zeddemores are a strict Baptist family. Winston was in the Air Force. *Page 200 **A class-four free-repeating geist breaks bulbs at the Avenue of the Americas. *Page 201 **The zombie cab driver is referred to as a palpable reconstructor type-three and has been dead for 15 years. *Page 202 **Louis Tully/Vinz Clortho's mind is said to be filled with the glory of the Shagganah and all of the Myriad Sacred Forms of the Torb. *Page 203 **Vinz Clortho is filled with the strength of the Vuldronaii. He opens his mouth and lets out a roar that snaps off the blade of a knife belonging to a would-be mugger. *Page 211 **The Mayor is named Hizzoner, a shortened nickname slang for "His Honor." *Page 231 **The Potsdam Case of 1912, an instantaneous life-force drain, is referenced. Characters Main Characters *Dr. Peter Venkman *Dr. Raymond Stantz *Dr. Egon Spengler *Winston Zeddemore *Janine Melnitz *Louis Tully *Dana Barrett Minor Characters *Harlan Bojay *Robert Learned Coombs *Alice Melvin *Scott Dickinson *Jennifer *Walter Peck *Mayor Lenny *Archbishop *Cosmonaut guy *Dean Yeager *Hotel manager *Mrs. Van Hoffman *Roger Delicore *Ted and Annette Fleming *Violinist *Police Captain *Jail Guard *Hallway Bystander *Casey Kasem *Joe Franklin *Larry King *Roger Grimsby *Groom (portrayed by Charles Levin) *Bride (portrayed by Wendy Goldman) Ghosts *Slimer *Gozer *(Terror dogs) Zuul *(Terror dogs) Vinz Clortho *Library ghost *Taxi driver ghost *Subway Ghost *Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (Gozer's Earth form) Equipment/Vehicle Reprint Version Differences Later printings of the book, released around 1989 when Ghostbusters II came out, have a different cover proclaiming that the book contains "Photos From The First Film". Paul from Spook Central (Fan Site) has also noted the following differences: *On the front cover, the top text is different, the logo is flipped, and the bottom text is changed. *The price listed on the front cover has increased from $2.95 to $3.95 *On the spine, the Tor logo text and book numbers at bottom are different. *The back cover has different UPC & ISBN numbers. *The inside front cover has different code text. *The copyright page has a different Tor address, and UPC & ISBN numbers. *There are different ads in the back of book. *The reprint is physically thicker than the original printing, but has the same number of pages. *Oddly enough, the reprint has the same "first printing" date as the original release. There's no "second printing" (or later) date listed. Also See *Ghostbusters *Other Ghostbusters Related print External Link *Spook Central has this book in PDF format in the "GB1 Books section". Trivia *On page 19, panel 2, of Ghostbusters Annual 2015, in the top middle, written down are "Electrical Applications of the Psycho-sexual Drive" and "Astral Projections as an Untapped Power Source." These are two books Egon read in his youth, as recounted on page 23 *On page 19, panel 2, of Annual 2015, to the middle left of Egon are more nods to Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular page 23 - Cleveland, Ohio where Egon grew up and more books he read "The Mysteries of Latent Abnormality," "Your Friends the Fungus," and "Necronomicon" Gallery Covers GB1 Muller Novel Reprint2.png|Reprint Back Cover Secondary Canon GhostbustersSupernaturalSpectacularAnnual2015.jpg|Non-Canon Reference in Ghostbusters Annual 2015 SupernaturalSpectacularTheVideoGameAnnual2015.jpg|Non-Canon Reference in Annual 2015 Category:Print Category:Ghostbusters: The Supernatural Spectacular Category:Tor Books Content